Polly was just about to start Big School and, being honest, she wasn't keen. She couldn't wear her spotty wellies for one thing, but worst of all, she couldn't take Neil with her. We heard about Neil the rescued puffin in the first book in this series and although Neil now has a nest in the nearby lighthouse, he and Polly are still very close. When she gets to school Polly doesn't really feel like joining in any of the games: she's the lonely little figure on the edge of everything. Her teacher suggests that she and Ronita make friends: have you ever noticed how difficult it is to even speak when someone suggests something like that? Polly and Ronita don't make friends - they end up shouting at each other in a 'mine's bigger/better than yours' argument. What about? Well, birds of course. Ronita has a macaw.

It's a gentle story about the difficulties of transitioning from home to school and making friends. I liked too that the story acknowledged that it's not always easy for the parent when a child goes to school - it's the start of losing them - and I loved Polly's statement that her mother must not have another baby whilst she was out at school. There's a gentle humour that runs through the book: some of it will go over the child's head, but there never comes a point where the adult appears to be laughing at the child, which is something I don't like.

The New Friend makes a perfect bedtime story, particularly for girls about to start school but there's a lovely clear font which makes it ideal for the emerging reader. The story will stand repeated readings and will be one which a child will happily return to time after time. There are bonuses at the back of the book too: recipes neatly adapted for the young to make with some parental guidance, jokes of the type which you feel you should groan at whilst hiding your smile, parrot facts and some activities. After a lifetime of being unable to draw anything other than a straight line with the help of a ruler I now find that I can draw a puffin - and there's even a homemade phone to make.

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

The New Friend works well as a standalone book, but you will get more out of the story if you know how Polly and Neil became friends.

You can read more book reviews or buy Polly and the Puffin: The New Friend by Jenny Colgan at Amazon.co.uk.

You can read more book reviews or buy Polly and the Puffin: The New Friend by Jenny Colgan at Amazon.com.